Carabott would not agree to sit down and talk to us on camera, so we caught up with him as he arrived at work one morning:

I-Team: “You admitted that you occasionally do use unlicensed people to do the job.”

Carabott: “Yeah.”

I-Team: “And that would be a violation of state law?”

Carabott: “I don’t believe so.”

I-Team: “You don’t believe so?”

Carabott:“No, not in an emergency.”

I-Team: “Not in an emergency? Well, you don’t think that would be putting patients at risk?”

Carabott: “No.”

I-Team: “Would you like to find a time when we could sit down?”

Carabott:“Just you and I, one-on-one, any day.”

I-Team: ” What about with the camera?”

Carabott:“No way.”

The I-Team reviewed internal company records which reveal unlicensed, lower-paid employees are routinely sent to do this critical work, including what is known as the “The Initial Assessment and Plan of Service and Medical Supply.”

That investigation by the I-Team has now triggered a formal investigation of North Atlantic Medical by the Department of Public Health, officials say.

“I would worry about safety; I would worry about safety for the patients,” says Martha DeSilva, program director and chairperson of the Respiratory Care Department at Massasoit Community College.

For those studying for a career in respiratory therapy, Massasoit runs a demanding two-year academic program.

“It’s really strenuous, actually,” says junior Lisa Delgado. “We spend a lot of time in class, in lab. We also do online classwork and it’s about four to five hours of homework a night.”

If they graduate, students still have to pass national boards and then go through a lengthy process to get a license from the state.